BRAVEST DEED

Hokitika Guardian, 6 April 1932, Page 8

BRAVEST DEED

MEDAL FOR SHIP’S COOK

RESCUE IN MID-OCEAN

LONDON, April o.

At the 158th. annual general meeting of the Royal Humane Society recently the Stanhope Gold Medal for the bravest deed of the year was awarded to Mr George Jenkins, a ship’s, cook, of Walton, Liverpool. During the passage of the London Missionary Society auxiliary schooner John Williams V from the- Clyde to Colon, one of the crew, Alexander Samuel, wan wa-shed overboard from the job boom while furling sail in midAtlantic. There was a , heavy ' sea running at the time, - a strong southwest gale was" blowing, and the ship was quite unmanageable when the engjinm were (stopped. A lifeboat was launched with difficulty and at considerable risk, hut be-, fore it reached the water .Ueor.gr Jenkins- had already jumped overboard and struck out toward* his shipmate with a lifebelt. Unfortunately, however, although he spent nearly an hour in the raging -sea before being picked up by the lifeboat, Jenkins was manic to' reach the drowning man before the latter sank. It may be added that Jenkins was by no means an expert swimmer, that the lifeboat was smashed while being taken aboard. Swinging against the ship’© side it became unhooked, filled with water, and had to be abandoned.